Her 1986 novel, Tender Warriors, depicts the struggles of an Italian-American working-class family and has been praised by critics for featuring complex lesbian characters.
Her poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in many literary journals, including Yellow Silk, the Paterson Literary Review, Rattle, Stone Canoe, and Italian Americana; and in anthologies such as Wild Dreams: The Best of Italian Americana (edited by Carol Bonomo Albright, 2009), The Milk of Almonds: Italian American Women Writers on Food and Culture (edited by Louise DeSalvo, 2002), Don't Tell Mama!
The Penguin Book of Italian American Writing (edited by Gina Barreca, 2002), and The Voices We Carry: Recent Italian American Women's Fiction (edited by Mary Jo Bona, 1994).
[3] Her first children's book, Teeny Tiny Tino's Fishing Story, won the 2008 Paterson Prize for Books for Young People,[4] and her poetry collection, Gambler's Daughter, was a finalist for the 2002 Paterson Poetry Prize.
[5] In 2009 she was a "poet in the schools" in upstate New York and taught creative writing at Syracuse University.